Posts filed under ‘clean eating’

I was scanning the produce section at Trader Joe’s when I turned around to discover these delightful, multicolored gems. Purple and yellow broccoli and cauliflower, mixed with the usual green and white. I had to buy several packs of these hue-tastic veggies.

I grabbed a couple of bags of seafood blend (shrimp, calamari rings and bay scallops) along with the veggies. I sauteed them while the veggies were steaming, and voila! A healthy, tasty, visually-appealing dinner! 🙂

We’ve all heard of active sitting: where you incorporate some sort of physical movement, no matter how small, into your sedentary job or homelife. I do it myself, by sitting on a stability ball as my office chair. I also do it by performing various arm movements during the day, or sometimes using my FLOW software, which prompts me to do exercises at my desk every hour or so.

But, tonight: a first! Active Hair Coloring! I ate too much today and wanted to get more cardio in to compensate, at least a little. I also needed to color my hair. I’m a home hair colorer, so the ideal solution was easy to find. While I was waiting for my hair color to process, I did 30 minutes on the Gazelle. Voila… active hair coloring! I was so pleased with myself for coming up with it. I love combining necessary or fun activities with fitness. It makes me feel efficient, and it makes onerous tasks seem more purposeful and worthy.

It also turns potentially “risky” situations into opportunities for success. For example, tomorrow morning, my husband and I are going to a pancake breakfast at the airport hangar.

We are pedaling our bicycles to and from the airport, which means we’ll get in at least a six-mile ride. 🙂

I normally dread being confronted with the white-flour pancakes, syrup and sausage they serve. The food is always yummy, but it’s got no redeeming nutritive value. This time, along with getting exercise by biking back and forth, I’m also bringing PB&J pancake batter, made with white whole wheat flour, Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread, Smart Balance Omega 3 Peanut Butter, and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. The topping will be reduced-sugar strawberry jam. It’s fun… and healthy!

I recently discovered Alpine sugar-free cider packets (from Krusteaz) and have been enjoying them immensely at work, at home and when I travel. There’s a nifty little recipe on the side of the box for Spiced Apple Raspberry Smoothie, and I finally had a chance to make it for my fiance when I brought him breakfast-in-bed this morning. I modified it slightly by using Greek yogurt, so I balanced the extra thickness and tang by including a bit of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and some sugar-free raspberry syrup.

The enormity of restaurant portions is well known, and countless strategies have been developed for dealing with them: ordering only appetizers, immediately putting half your meal in a to-go bag, even staying home rather than going out to eat.

“The study, which looked at how classic recipes have changed during the past 70 years, found a nearly 40 percent increase in calories per serving for nearly every recipe reviewed, about an extra 77 calories.”

Although the trend has been noted in other cookbooks, the study focused primarily on the classic “Joy of Cooking” cookbook, first published in the 1930s, discovering that…

“Only the chili con carne recipe remained unchanged through the years. The chicken gumbo, however, went from making 14 servings at 228 calories each in the 1936 edition, to making 10 servings at 576 calories each in the 2006 version.”

“And changes in “Joy of Cooking” have been going on for a while. Increases in overall calories per recipe have been gradual, but portion sizes tended to jump, first during the ’40s, again during the ’60s, and with the largest jump in the 2006 edition.”

Add a decade, expand a portion. A brownie recipe that yielded 30 brownies in the 60s now delivers 15 brownies. A chocolate chip cookie recipe that made 100 cookies initially now provides only 60.

So what do you do about it? Unfortunately, being aware isn’t enough. You have to be as vigilant at home as you are on the road. Make smaller cookies or brownies. Or, adapt your restaurant strategies for home: don’t eat a full portion, saving the extra for another meal.

I’ll probably be banned for the planet for good, but I suggest that we could create a healthy version of this decadence by using turkey bacon, vegetarian sausage, bacon bits, and low-carb/low-calorie BBQ sauce. I may just have to give it a go myself and see how it comes out. You never know; it may develop its own cult following.